The 6 realms

General discussion, particularly exploring the Dharma in the modern world.
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futerko
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Re: The 6 realms

Post by futerko »

Is my Halloween costume confusing you Johnny? :tongue:
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: The 6 realms

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

futerko wrote:Is my Halloween costume confusing you Johnny? :tongue:
:twothumbsup:
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
Martin007

Re: The 6 realms

Post by Martin007 »

dude wrote:When you win the lottery, you're in heaven.
When a loved one dies, you're in hell.
That sounds a bit Abrahamic to me... :stirthepot:
Martin007

Re: The 6 realms

Post by Martin007 »

flowerbudh wrote: That being said, I have a friend who has seen ghosts and maybe it is because she has allowed herself to see them. Our minds block out so much of tangible reality, you know.
Good point. Personally I've seen some things I can't explain, so I prefer to allow for possibilities and keep an open mind - which is actually more interesting. :smile:
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seeker242
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Re: The 6 realms

Post by seeker242 »

I like this response, from Chan teacher Guo Gu :smile:
in regards to other forms of sentient beings, there's much more than meets the eye. just because we don't see them it doesn't mean they're not there. Most times we don't even see physical things due to our own limitations :lol: let alone things that have no physical form.
One should not kill any living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should one incite any other to kill. Do never injure any being, whether strong or weak, in this entire universe!
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: The 6 realms

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

max123 wrote:If the 6 realms exist not just a psychological states but as realms so to speak, why can we only see the human and animal realms,why can we only see 2 of the 6?
I once asked a lama friend, if beings in the hell and ghost realms are so miserable, how can they ever get it together to have kids (how can anyone be born there?) and he told me that they are not like our realms.

Consider your question,
that the activity of vision as we know it, is a manifestation of the human realm,
hence, it is part of the very projection of mind which establishes the human realm as 'real' in the first place.

So, it's sort of like being in a dream, and knowing you are dreaming, and asking, "If I am dreaming, why can't I see what other people are dreaming?"

In other words, there is some level of comparison between our realm, which we experience as real, and other realms which we cannot see, and thus suspect that they are not real...meaning not real the way our realm is real.

The human realm experience is a manifestation of the accumulation of causes. So, we can only detect what those causes allow us to detect. Consider that a honey bee sees the same flower you see in all sorts of degrees of ultraviolet colors that we cannot detect. And, that practically everything you can see, a dog can smell just as vividly as you see it. A dog can even smell things that were here yesterday but not today. That is because the animal realm experience is a also a manifestation of the accumulation of causes. Yet, the dog cannot read a book, or speak in human sentences.

I have heard that some lamas are actually able to perceive beings in other realms, but I don't know how to validate such a claim.
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Re: The 6 realms

Post by Vasana »

I think these realms can be 'directly' perceived in some cases. Whether or not it's actually useful or advisable to try and perceive them without the right intention is another thing all together.

We each have a much deeper experiential understanding of these realms than our mind-stream can often remember. In the same way that the collective-unconcious , or social unconscious influences people and group action with it's invisible hand, so to does the entirety of Samsara effect our own individual and collective action/karma both in our human realm and across the realms.

If the root of all Samsaric activity is Ignorance [Ignorance of our unconditioned nature ), then our experiences and perceptual abilities will naturally be shaped by the extent and various prevailing attribute of that ignorance.

This is where i find it interesting when comparing Buddhist Cosmology with that of various Shamanic cosmologies and those who claim to experience Astral projection and out of body or near death or actual death experiences. Shamanic cosmology quite often talks of the lower world, middle world (ours) and the upper world.

A different looking map to Samsara, but still the exact same territory. Split into 3rds rather than 6ths.

The paradox is that Samsara is both internal and external at the same time, but the great thing is knowing that we are sensing our way out of the darkness with all the seen and unseen guidance.
'When thoughts arise, recognise them clearly as your teacher'— Gampopa
'When alone, examine your mind, when among others, examine your speech'.— Atisha
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Re: The 6 realms

Post by Vasana »

Also worth mentioning as to why not all people can percieve the other realms and beings in particular... Divyacakṣus & Divyaśrotra


From wiki ;

"From a human perspective, devas share the characteristic of being invisible to the physical human eye. The presence of a deva can be detected by those humans who have opened the divyacakṣus (Pāli: dibbacakkhu), an extrasensory power by which one can see beings from other planes. Their voices can also be heard by those who have cultivated divyaśrotra, a similar power of the ear.

Most devas are also capable of constructing illusory forms by which they can manifest themselves to the beings of lower worlds; higher and lower devas even have to do this between each other.

Devas do not require the same kind of sustenance as humans do, although the lower kinds do eat and drink. The higher sorts of deva shine with their own intrinsic luminosity.

Devas are also capable of moving great distances speedily and of flying through the air, although the lower devas sometimes accomplish this through magical aids such as a flying chariot."
'When thoughts arise, recognise them clearly as your teacher'— Gampopa
'When alone, examine your mind, when among others, examine your speech'.— Atisha
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